MY CONNECTIONS TO PLAY

Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.
Mark Twain

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Plato

Play was an integral part of my childhood.  I remember lots of time to play in my parents’ 1.5 acres of countryside.  The routine was, come home from school, change into your “play clothes” and go outside.  Homework was also very important, but we did that after dinner and before bedtime, so play was the thing that really sticks out in my mind.  It seemed as though we were always playing.  Back in my day there were three recesses during our school hours.  This was in addition to gym, and a very physical music class (this was in the first grade and above).  During my kindergarten years though, I remember walking to school, which was less than a quarter mile from my house.  These were times that I did a lot of imagining about rescues and adventures in the woods—there were lots of trees.

The role of play when I was younger was supported by my parents as probably just a way to get kids out of adult’s hair and to give them opportunities for exercise.  Given the information that I have learned about play’s importance to healthy development, I should be profoundly intelligent and filthy rich from all of the play experience I’ve had as a child.  Nevertheless, the role of play throughout my life has proven to be an indomitable source of strength from childhood into adulthood. Dramatic and Sociodramatic play have been found to be directly linked to better ability to take on the perspective of another, reduced aggression, better control of impulsive actions, and better emotional and social adjustment (Almon, 2002).  I understand now and believe adamantly that those of us who have learned how to preserve the art of play (I call it a playful or youthful spirit) can and have actually weathered life’s storms and challenges easier and more successfully.  If we are truly honest with ourselves, we ALL have the underlying basis for play—we just have different expressions of it as our years progress (2002).

Today, children hardly know what it means to play.  It seems as though the concepts of some closed-minded adults have been adopted by children as young as 8 and 9 years old—they feel as though play is for babies, and have not engaged in it since the age of 2 years old in daycare. Play today is the equivalent of a video game in front of the eyes of children from age 3 to 23.  Play has been replaced with structured athletic leagues and clubs, which have stripped the sheer creativity from the play experience. It is my hope that adults will recognize the imperative impact that creative free-style play, particularly dramatic and sociodramatic play, has on the total development and preparedness of a child throughout their entire life; and will incorporate and advocate for its proper implementation within the educational field.

Reference

Almon, K. (2002). The vital role of play in early childhood education. Gateways, 43. Retrieved from http://www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org/pdf/BAPlayAlmon.pdf

BrainyQuotes [Website]. Mark Twain – Play. Retrieved May 25, 2011 from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/play.html

BrainyQuotes [Website]. Plato – Play. Retrieved May 25, 2011 from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/play.html